We estimate approximately 6 to 12 weeks. We will always do what we can to progress the transaction as quickly as possible. If you have a particular time scale in mind, please advise us as soon as possible.

Most people prefer to have at least a couple of days between exchange and completion to give them time to make removal arrangements. However, exchange of contracts can take place up to and including the day of completion (the day you pay for your new property and get the keys, or the day you receive the net sale proceeds if you are selling a property). If you have a particular timescale for your house move, let us know as soon as possible and we will do our best to accommodate exchange of contracts and completion dates to suit you.

If you are a cash purchaser (that is, you do not require a mortgage to fund the purchase of a property), searches are entirely at your discretion however we would strongly recommend you obtain a local authority search, a drainage and water search and an environmental search to give you a complete picture of the property you are buying.

If you are purchasing with a mortgage, searches are a compulsory requirement of most mortgage lenders.

Buying at auction is a binding commitment and carries the same legal implications as signing contracts through a solicitor - if you are planning to purchase an auction property contact us before you attend the auction.

Once you have successfully bid for a property through auction, and the contracts have been exchanged, you are legally committed to purchase the property.

This process is called a transfer of equity. If the property being transferred is currently mortgaged, you will be required to obtain your Lender's written consent to change the ownership. A document called a 'Transfer Deed' is then drawn up and signed by all parties to the transaction, including the mortgage lender. Once this is done, an application will be submitted to HM Land Registry to change the title deeds.

Married couples or people living together can choose to purchase the property as with a) 'joint tenants' which means that upon the death of one or other of them - that person's share automatically passes to the other owner or b) ‘tenants in common’ which means that the deceased’s share does not pass automatically to the other owner, but can be left to a third party in a Will (such as a child from a previous relationship). Owning as ‘tenants in common’ requires each owner to have a valid Will to ensure the property is passed in accordance with their wishes.

Neither of these choices is permanent and can be changed by the parties at any time, as often as they wish, throughout their ownership of the property.

Disbursements are the additional expenses which are required for the purchase or sale of your property but they do not form part of our professional legal fees. Disbursements are those expenses payable to other outside agencies/third parties i.e. searches, stamp duty land tax and land registry searches. Disbursements should be the roughly the same at all law firms. Our residential conveyancing team will be happy to give you a breakdown of all disbursements when we give you an estimate of our residential conveyancing charges for your particular transaction.

Exchange of contracts is the formal process whereby you become legally committed to proceed with the sale or purchase of your property. You do not need to be present when exchange takes place, however, we will let you know when contracts have been exchanged. From that point you are bound to complete your sale or purchase and there are severe financial penalties payable should either party withdraw from the contract, after exchange has taken place.

Unregistered land is simply land which has never been formally recorded at HM Land Registry. The main reason land remains 'unregistered' is that the property hasn't been sold/mortgaged in the last 25 - 30 years, as registration was not compulsory at that time.

Selling unregistered land is not a problem, providing all of the original documents are available. If you purchase a property which is currently unregistered, submission of your application to the Land Registry will trigger 'first registration' as registration is now compulsory throughout the UK. The Land Registry will produce a Title Information Document and a copy of the newly created Register in your name.

Local Authority Search - reveals details of planning history along with any proposals for new roads or traffic schemes.

Environmental Search - carried out to see if there is any landfill or waste disposal sites in the area. It also checks for toxic emissions, flooding and subsidence.

Drainage & Water Search - will show whether or not the surface and / or foul water drains run into public or private sewers.

Chancel Repair Liability Search – which will show if the postcode of the property is situated in an area which has a liability for Chancel Repair (that is they can request a contribution from each of the home owners in that Parish towards the maintenance and repair of the Chancel of a medieval church near to the property.)

The keys are released when all of the money for the purchase has been received by the seller's solicitor, this will happen on the day of completion and is around 1pm or 2pm, depending on the time specified in the contract you have signed. This will be explained to you at your appointment, when you are invited into the office to sign the documents.

Registration at HM Land Registry generally takes between a few weeks, although you could expect to receive the amended register within a month of completion, providing the property is not unregistered land. If the title to the property is unregistered, the registration process generally takes around 4-6 months, due to the workload of HM Land Registry at the time.

Lawson West Solicitors Limited is registered in England and Wales (registered number 7514625). Registered office: 4 Dominus Way, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1RP. A list of Directors is available for inspection at this address.

Lawson West Solicitors Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. You can obtain a copy of the rules and the principles that we are subject to by clicking on the link: http://www.sra.org.uk/

Lawson-West Solicitors is a trading name of Lawson West Solicitors Limited.

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Name of opposition party*

*Please note this will be kept in strictest confidence and is required
solely to ensure we do not have a conflict of interest according to SRA
regulations. It will either be name and DOB of your ex-partner if it’s a
family matter or the name of your employer if it’s an employment issue.
The party *WILL NOT be contacted* by Lawson West.